Breaching the Gap
by silvernessa
Summary: The last episode of FMA left some serious gaps in the storyline. What happened when both Al and Ed wake up after Ed sacrifices so much? And what happens between the last episode & the movie? Please R&R. Contains spoilers. [FMA doesn't belong to me!]
1. Edward's Awakening

Edward Elric was dead.

Or so he thought. He had given his mind, body and soul to recover his little brother Alphonse. After he had woken up to discover that Al used the Philosopher's stone to bring him back from death, he knew he couldn't live without repaying him. It was equivalent exchange, wasn't it? That's why he thought that when he closed his eyes, he would never open them again.

But…he did. After he had transmuted his body, he felt this odd ripping feeling throughout his entire form. It was familiar to him; he knew he was going through the gate, it had happened to him only about an hour ago. That time was different-he was able to pull himself back. This time he wasn't so sure that he would be able to again.

After what seemed like a hundred years of darkness, Ed could feel his conscious mind awakening. He had been sleeping, that much he could tell. He was lying in a bed of some sort…just like the time before. His eyebrows tightened on his brow as he stirred with a groan, surprise still in his mind. "How the hell… did I get here?" he spoke his thoughts aloud, but no one seemed to hear him. Perhaps he was alone. He raised his right hand to rub his eyes, expecting to feel real skin, but instead was met with cold metal. This certainly woke him up, and he sat in the bed, looking down at his body. His right arm and left leg were still auto mail. Why was that? He was also dressed in his usual attire for sleeping-his boxers. Only these were white. A frown crossed his lips, and his head swiveled around to check out his surroundings. As he did so, he felt something soft brush against the middle of his back, and his reached behind him to feel his hair. Okay, there was one difference… his eyes spotted a small mirror in the corner of the room and he swung his legs over to stand, noticing as he did so that the ground was a little further away then usual. So he was also taller, but not by much. Still, a delighted grin lit his features as he walked over to the mirror, bending down to peer into it.

The face that stared back at him was his, no doubt about it. His hair fell longer then it had before, but he still had the same bangs that perfectly framed his face. He even had his strand of hair that stood up from his head like an antenna…. Well, that would certainly add to his height. This long hair would bother him, and he noticed a small black band lying on a little table. He seized it and slipped it on his wrist, and his hands automatically went up to braid his hair, but he stopped them. It just… didn't fell right. Instead he settled for a high ponytail, and then it was time to see what clothes he would have to deal with.

Edward couldn't help but grimace slightly at the state of the closet. He thought of his platform boots, leather pants, and red jacket briefly. He missed them already… how sad. With a thoughtful frown on his face the whole time, he managed to put together an outfit he was reasonably happy with-a button down vest, matching pants, and a jacket. A grin broke out across his face when he discovered a pair of white gloves. So this Edward didn't have a too horrible taste in clothes. Though it didn't matter either way, as he would have gone out and bought gloves if he didn't have any.

After he had gotten dressed, he walked around to explore his surroundings. It seemed he wasn't in a house, but an apartment, and he was very much alone. Ed felt a pang when he remembered Al wasn't there, and he felt a sob rising in his chest. He fought that down with difficulty, however, and swallowed several times to get the lump out of his throat. He /would/ get back to Al. He knew it deep in his heart.

First thing was first-it was time to explore more. He had no idea how long he would be staying in the world, and so he might as well get to know it. He strode out the door, trying to look confident, and took the stairs three flights down to the ground floor.

Just as he was opening the door, he collided with a strange girl and sent her sprawling face down on the ground. Feeling his cheeks redden slightly, he bent down to help her up.

"Hey, I'm sorry about that. You okay?"

A pair of perfect emerald eyes stared up at him, and this Ed faltered for a minute when the girl spoke. "Oh, hey Ed! You should watch where you're going; you could kill someone one of these days."

He blinked at her a few times, trying to escape the trance her eyes had him in. He didn't know this girl… Ah well, she probably knew the Edward that belonged in this world, in this body. Finally, he was able to stammer a few words. "R-right, sorry."

She merely smiled and lifted herself to her feet. Hair as dark as midnight tumbled down her shoulders, and her skin was a perfect ivory, a stunning contrast with her eyes. She was, very surprisingly, a couple of inches shorter then Ed, and the boy felt his insides swell with pride at this discovery. Her clothing was fairly simple-she was wearing a light blue summer dress over plain black shoes.

That moment marked one of the rare occasions where Edward wasn't feeling completely confident with himself. He was afraid she'd try to talk to him, and not only did he not know her name, he didn't want to come off like a blubbering idiot either. After muttering a quick, polite goodbye, he hurried out the door.

What awaited him was a vaguely familiar scene. It came back to him in a flash-this is where he had gone when he passed through the gate before! He groaned inwardly-that had not been one of his best experiences. He would have to deal with living here, though. With his teeth grit and his jaw set, he started down the street.

Author's notes

So, this is my very first fanfiction. I may have written one or two when I was ten(probably about Pokemon XD) but this is pretty much my first one. I was just inspired one day-I thought, hey, the last episode of FMA left a gap. Who knows how big of one. So I decided to try and fill it. I hope you like it, and I'd appreciate a review if you have time. I decided to create a female character to perhaps add some romance to spice it up a little bit later on. I'm also thinking about doing a few chapters about Alphonse waking up in his human body. Tell me your thoughts.


	2. Meeting Hohenheim

Edward couldn't help but sneer slightly when he saw the state of the city. It was so… busy. Yes, that was the perfect word for it. Cars ho, people were running back and forth, throwing things to each other… and then his eyes caught the back of a familiar blond head with a ponytail, walking away. His father. Finally, someone he knew.

"Dad-hey Dad!" Ed ran after him, almost getting run over by a car in the process. He waved a hand in apology at the furious driver, and then turned to catch up to Hohenheim. The man had caught his near-death experience and was looking at him with a shocked expression. Once Ed was next to him, he rested his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"Hey, it's me. I guess I'm… back in this world."

The man's eyes widened. "Edward… Edward Elric?"

"Yep, that's me."

"I-I can't believe this!"

Ed tilted his head curiously. "Yeah, it's a long story. But what are _you_ doing here?"

His father suddenly looked embarrassed. "Well, to be honest… I usually walk by here to see you… or your body, at least. You know that everyone seems to have a counterpart here, and I found yours… I know it wasn't you, but I just wanted to see my son."

His reply surprised Edward. "Uh… okay."

"So what happened? Why are you back here?"

"Hmm… to make a long story short… I died, and Al used the stone to bring me back at the cost of himself. So… I sacrificed myself to get _his_ body back. And then I woke up here…" Tears sprang to his eyes, surprising him, and he fought them back.

"Oh, son… I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, well, don't be too sorry. I will get back to him."

Hohenheim opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then he closed it and nodded instead. "You just might."

Ed looked around thoughtfully. "So, where do you live?"

His father grimaced. "In a shithole. I'm not making that much money at the moment… don't be thinking that you can come live with me. Besides, I think you'd prefer to stay in your own apartment… some of the people around there might interest you. Especially that, uh… Cassandra girl?" He raised his eyebrows knowingly.

"Hmm? Is that the girl with black hair?" Ed shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "Eh, I hardly noticed her. But I guess I will stay there for the time being…"

"Well, whether you notice her or not, you better be careful of her father. He's a little on the crazy side."

Edward raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing. Something else had caught his attention. Someone was walking toward them; dressed in a military suit… a familiar glint from his glasses gave him away. The boy's heart lurched when he realized who it was-Maes Hughes.

**Author's Notes**

Yeah, I realize this chapter's a little short. I might write more next chapter if people would actually leave a review… XD I promise this story will get more interesting. Ya just gotta keep reading! FYI, the next chapter's probably going to be about Al… hmm…


	3. Alphones' Awakening

Alphonse Elric was very much alive.

Cold and uncomfortable, yes, but alive. But where was he? He opened his eyes slowly to get a look at his surroundings, and then sat up quickly. How did he get here? He racked his brain, trying to think of…anything. The last thing he remembered was trying to bring back his mom with Ed. Wait! Where was his brother?

He was sitting on the floor of what looked like an old fashioned ballroom. He didn't know this place! There was no sign of Edward. Was this some kind of joke? Al called out for his brother until his throat was sore. He was met with nothing but echoing silence. Fighting panic now, he lifted himself to his feet slowly and started a wide circle around the room, looking for any sort of clue whatsoever. His eyes caught a few pools of blood on the floor, and that did nothing to calm his nerves. Finally he noticed broad double doors at the far side of the room, and he ran toward them. He just wanted to get out of this place.

Al pushed open the door and was about to continue running, but he was met with a terrible sight. There seemed to be hundreds of houses and buildings piled onto each other, buried under ground. His breath caught in his throat when he saw it, and he wondered what could have caused this. Standing there for a few moments was enough to intensify his need to get out of this place, and he tore his eyes away to continue onward, almost sprinting now and ignoring the complaining of his legs.

At long last he came to a sort of tunnel, going steadily upward. Without hesitation he began to climb up it, running as fast as he could-anything to get away from the horrible sight. After a few seconds of running upward, his foot caught on a small rock jutting up from the hard pack ground and Al went flying forward, landing roughly and getting a face full of dirt. It was then that he came to realize his heart was thudding against his chest as though trying to escape from his ribcage and his breath was coming in ragged gasps, and desperate sobs were issuing from his throat. He felt helpless and completely alone.

But there was no way he could stop now. He pulled himself to his feet and dusted off his clothes and continued his journey upwards. Finally he cleared the tunnel and found himself in a church. Some odd sort of feeling tugged at his mind, as if something important happened here… but Al didn't stop to find out. He'd seen far worse sights then an abandoned church, and he ran out of the building without any further stops.

Once out in the street, he finally allowed himself to catch his breath for a few seconds. A gunshot rang in his ears, and this brought his break to an abrupt halt. His head jerked toward the sound and his feet automatically followed it, a second gunshot showing him the way. He came upon a large mansion with a long wide lawn. On the porch of the house, a blonde woman was weeping, crouched over a motionless man with black hair.

"Dammit, Roy! Speak to me!" He heard the woman shout. A thought came to his head-maybe he could help them. He knew alchemy, didn't he? This looked like an emergency; it should be enough to stop his quest for answers. Al took a deep breath and started toward the two.

* * *

**Author's note**

I hope you like this chapter! It was pretty hard to write, harder then Edward's awakening. I tried to get all the facts right, with Al's loss of memory and all that. Well, please leave me a review if you liked it or tell me why you didn't.

Stay tuned!


	4. Roy and Riza

"Please, Roy, don't die. Wake up, dammit, just open your eyes. Oh, shit… this is bad…"

Alphonse could hear the woman whimpering as he ran toward the two. "Hold on! I'm an alchemist, maybe I can help!" he yelled, coming up next to them and skidding to a stop.

The woman's head snapped up when she heard his voice, and she turned to look at him with a relieved expression. "Of course, Al, I know you're an alchemist, but maybe Ed should come and help you-" Her talking ceased when she saw the boy's appearance and her eyes widened in shock. "A-Alphonse?"

Al started. "H-how do you know my name? And how do you know my brother?"

The woman still looked at him in disbelief. "I do know you… B-but, where's your suit of amour? D-did you… get your body back?"

He blinked a few times at her. "What are you talking about? I've never met you before in my life… you better not of done something to Ed!" Clearly this woman was insane. What if she was the reason this man beneath her was near death? A large, pained groan from said man interrupted his thoughts.

The woman shook her head. "I didn't do anything to your brother, look, something is wrong with you, but could you please help him? M-my name is Riza and this is Roy, okay? We're both part of the military… he's a State Alchemist; he's very important…"

Alphonse swallowed a couple times. Perhaps she was right, something probably _was_ wrong with him… after all, he had just woken up in a strange place with no memory of how he got there. Now, all he could do was save this Roy.

He kneeled beside the man, taking a toll on the situation. Roy looked bad-there was a definite stab wound on his shoulder, and various other scratches. "What happened to him?"

"I'm not entirely sure, he was battling with someone… it's a long story."

"Alright." He left it at that, and tried to think of what to do. There wasn't much to work with, and he was forced to use blood to draw a transmutation circle on the man's stomach. He placed his hands on the circle and closed his eyes, focusing all his energy on doing all he could do to help Roy. Al felt some of his energy leave him and melt into the man, giving him strength and hopefully sustaining his life. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and stopped the alchemy. "That's all I can do. We need to get him to a hospital."

Riza nodded. "Central Headquarters should help him. Let's take him there."

* * *

**Author's Note: **

Sorry this took me so long. I was having a case of writer's block, and I just wasn't feeling inspired. Someone did point out to me that this is a flaw in logic, because Roy doesn't know that Al is back until the movie. So… sorry? I can't really change it now, so consider it a bit of AU.

My next chapter probably won't come for a while. I've got Christmas (yay) and then I'm going to visit my best friend. But thanks for reading, and leave me a review, please.


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